Toronto's iconic streetcars should be more than photo ops for tourists. If you learn to ride them, they're a good way to get around. / Ellen Creager/Detroit Free Press

If you go

Getting there: Toronto is a four-hour drive from Detroit. I like the relaxing ViaRail train from Windsor instead, especially its cushy business-class coach, which has a hot meal with real silverware, wine and more (coach fares start at $66 round-trip; business class $239 at www.viarail.ca). Porter Airlines also flies from Windsor to downtown Toronto’s Billy Bishop city airport for $239 and up, round-trip (www.flyporter.com). Getting around: Use public transit, unless you are physically challenged (subways have a lot of stairs and walking). Lodging: Toronto is the biggest city in Canada, with major metropolitan city prices to match. Lodging is generally $180 to $350 a night. Make sure any hotel-rate quote includes taxes and fees. Dining: Toronto’s varied dining scene means you can try high-end restaurants every night or choose tiny ethnic restaurants (my preference). Lots of Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, hole-in-the wall spots save your budget without sacrificing flavor. Money and phones: The Canadian and U.S. dollars are of equal value, so don’t expect a discount. Beware of international roaming charges on your cell phone; contact your carrier to confirm service and rates. Crossing the border: Visitors ages 16 and older must show a passport, enhanced driver’s license or Nexus card at the border. Bring birth certificates for younger children.

New for tourists in Toronto

Ripley’s Aquarium — Set to open sometime in the summer 2013 at 288 Bremner Blvd., next to the CN Tower. Admission not yet set but other Ripley’s Aquariums are $24.99, $12.99 for children ages 3-11. (www.ripleyaquariums.com/canada/, 647-351-3474) Christian Louboutin Retrospective — You can see this exhibit on the history of the elite shoes and their designer at Design Exchange, June 21-Sept. 15; $10, $8 for students and free for ages 6 and under (www.dx.org, 416-363-6121). “Game On 2.0” — Check out an exhibit on the history of video games at the Ontario Science Centre. Now through Sept. 2; $22, $13 for ages 4-12 and free for ages 3 and under. (www.ontariosciencecentre.ca, 416-696-1000)CN Tower EdgeWalk — Season Three is now open for those who want to walk on the outside ledge of the tower. (www.cntower.ca, 416-868-6937) Legoland Discovery Centre — This just opened near Canada’s Wonderland. It’s an indoor playland, with rides, LEGO building areas and replicas of the Toronto skyline built of LEGOs; $22, $18 for ages 3-13, free for ages 2 and younger. (www.legolanddiscoverycentre.ca/toronto/)

The biggest news here is the planned opening this summer of Ripley’s Aquarium, a $130-million project that is Toronto’s first big new tourist attraction in two decades.

It will be home to 15,000 fish and other creatures. It also promises a moving walkway that passes through a tunnel below a 750,000-gallon shark lagoon.

On a windy April day, I walked to the aquarium in the shadow of the CN Tower to find dozens of workmen toiling on the unfinished glass building.

“When will it be done?” I inquired.

“Never,” said a grinning, hard-hatted workman. “The outside windows won’t keep out the rain, and the inside windows won’t keep in the fish.”

Ah, a little aquatic joke! The aquarium is supposed to start stocking fish tanks in June and open this summer, according to Ripley’s spokeswoman Erin Burcham.

But fish are not the only tourism story here. In furry mammal news, the Toronto Zoo has just welcomed two giant pandas from China, which arrived by Federal Express in March. With an exhibit opening May 18, the zoo will showcase Er Shun and Da Mao for at least five years, giving Detroiters a good opportunity to meet them.

The third thing tourists should know about Toronto this summer is that there will be a lot of construction in this booming city. Spindly cranes reach for the clouds as new glass skyscrapers rise. The biggest disruptions are on Front Street, which is partly closed, and at Union Station — all part of a giant five-year renovation to modernize.

Streetcar savvy

Many Michigan tourists are familiar with Toronto from its earnest days as a “Phantom of the Opera” one-note destination. Today, the multicultural city welcomes 2 million visitors a year from the United States — and this ever-growing city of 2.7 million people spreads out like a colorful quilt.

Most American visitors do manage to get the hang of riding the Toronto TTC subway with its U-shaped route. Many still shy away from the bright red streetcars, which require one to run into the street and jump onto a car packed elbow to elbow.

That is too bad, because the streetcars generally run east and west to supplement the subway, which primarily goes north and south. And the same $3 token that gets you on the subway also gets you on the streetcar. This summer, just elbow your way on. When you want to get off, pull the yellow cord.

Going to, um, market

St. Lawrence Market is literally a market. One giant hall has dozens of vendors and farmers selling fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, pastries — everything from halibut heads to tulips. There is a Saturday farmers market, a Sunday antiques market and more activities that spill out onto the streets. The market is on Front Street at Jarvis, a few blocks east of Union Station.

Kensington Market is a groovy neighborhood near Chinatown northwest of Spadina and Dundas. (Both streets have streetcars, so take a chance and ride one to the market.) During the summer, some days the area becomes a pedestrian-only zone.

One of the coolest little corners is where Kensington meets Baldwin, home of the Good Luck Shop (“the name brings good luck to the customers,” says the manager of the shop that sells games, socks, clocks, wigs and assorted low-budget merchandise.) Across the street is Global Cheese, from which the ripe smell of Stilton drifts into the street.

On the blocks nearby are wares for sale, including frilly petticoats, macrame hammocks, artisan bread, curried goat, chocolate truffles and buckets of parasols; in other words, all the necessities of life in modern Toronto.